Carson, California -- Three people who had been innocent bystanders were hospitalized today with gunshot wounds suffered at a Samoan Flag Day Celebration in Carson, where rival Samoans shot at each other and one was killed by a security guard, authorities said.

The violence erupted at an annual cultural festival at Victoria County Park around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Sgt. Faye Bugarin of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Carson Station.

At some point during the celebration, rival Samoans became involved in an altercation, leading to several shots being fired, said Deputy Rick Pedroza of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau in Monterey Park.

"One of the suspect shooters fired several rounds into a crowd of people, and three individuals were wounded," Pedroza said.

He said the victims -- innocent bystanders, according to sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht, also of Sheriff's Headquarters -- were treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to a hospital. They included a woman, a man and a boy who appeared to be between 10 and 13, a camera crew reported from the scene.

Moments after the shooting broke out, an armed private security guard working at the festival exchanged gunfire with one of the suspects, who was later pronounced dead at the scene, Pedroza said.

The dead suspect, whose name was not immediately released, later laid covered just outside the festival area, a weeping woman leaning over the body, according to one photographer.

The area was placed on lockdown immediately after the shootings as deputies began interviewing witnesses, Pedroza said. Witnesses were being allowed to proceed after they were interviewed.

One of the gunmen was last seen running from the park. It was not immediately clear how many suspects were being sought, said Hecht.